Sunday, July 24, 2005

Golly, it's weeks since i've posted anything. Can hardly get hold of one of the computers at the unimas library lab or faculty lab, that's why. It's almost always fully booked during the time i'm free to pop in inside the lab. And even when I'm lucky enough to get hold of one...there are always plenty of assignments or tutorial info to search on. Sigh..that's uni life. Can't have the privilege of close proximity to the unimas lab like the previous semesters anymore. I'm living much further away now from my campus...about a 5-minute bus drive away. And since I always cherish my sleep at night, and a good rest during the groggy hours after 7pm, taking a bus to the unimas library at night didn't seem like a sound idea. I'm getting lazier...and lazier by the semester, I realise now too. Getting a reference book to read sometimes seem like sheer torture right now..so the idea of haggling up the bus to get to the unimas lab or library seems pretty daunting.

But I'm pretty much enjoying myself with the lectures. I'm taking up to courses that has to do with literature..something I can exercise my analytical mind on for a bit. Enjoying myself trying to figure the characters, symbolisms and plots out. Critical Analysis and Reading Narratives---hmnnn..sound like yummy subjects to me...you can practically taste the sheer joy of going through them. Nah, I didn't mean it literally. The poems for the course were well chosen too--Blake's " To See the Word in a Grain of Sand" had always intrigued me, and now I'm studying it! Haven't read all that I'm supposed to read though. But I just love those two courses! Hope I'll do well with them this semester..and hopefully get an A for each one of them.

Other updates: Just got a new handphone. So for those who didn't know about this---this means that you can contact me via hp now.

Oh, and I just went for the "Puteri Hang Li Po" musical at Stadium Perpaduan just last night. I've been to dramas, but not a musical like this, so this was the first time. Yeah, I know, I was busy, but someone gave my family free ticket, so why should I miss out on this golden opportunity? Anyway, I had hoped I could go watch it the first time I saw a promo poster on it pasted in front of the ET-the unimas theatre. In fact, I dreamed about going, since I'd always loved dramas. I love reading dramas, watching it, writing scripts for it, and even being in it. And since it was staged by Istana Budaya, I had a good idea how professional the set up would be. So the experience was truly phenomenal for me. Saw Louisa Chon, Soong Ai Ling in action. Aman Yap was truly amazing as Laksamana Ming You...his stance was professional. The dances were spectacular. My sister, Deb, ever the experienced dancer, couldn't help pinpointing the tribe of origin those different chinese dance steps came from. Yeah, she went to China once for a summer dance course, so she had a clear idea of what went round. And the set up of the props were very detailed. A truly professional performance and set up on the overall, albeit with a few flaws (as usual). But it was a great performance nonetheless! What's more to say? It was a privilege even to be there!

Hehe...that's all.....or else my other commitments shall be at stake. Piles of assignments mounting up--I've 6 coming up, and have to edit all of them. It's tough enough doing all of them, even tougher when you have to edit every one of the pair and group assignments too. Always the so called "English Teacher". Then there's also this TEACH 2005 I'm going to attend too--the only student going for my year. Busy, busy me! So, Cheerio folks..bye bye!

Monday, July 11, 2005

Back to Unimas!

It's been a pretty tiring 2 days for me...now that I'm finally back to unimas. And I'm now acessing and typing out this entry via one of the computers at the unimas library lab. Just registered at the new hostel in the new unimas campus yesterday...and had to went through a 3-hour ordeal (from 5pm-8pm)just to get the key to my room. Apparently they didn't have a proper, systematic system to allocate students to their specified rooms. There were only a lady and 3 or 4 other guys at the counter servicing over a hundred students cramped and jam-packed in a small room. So you can imagine how stuffy it was in the registration office.Just imagine hundreds of sardines tightly packed in a container....that's how the situation was like. Then as I finally fought my way to the counter, alas, I was told that my key was taken away by my roomate. So I carried some of my stuff from my car, then dragged them up to my room, which is on the 3rd floor, only to find that it was locked! No one else was there! It seemed that I was the first one, or so I thought! So it was another trip to the stuffy room and counter again. And boy was that lady there pretty cranky! Since my room key could not be found at the counter, just run around the different blocks and try to find one of the staffs who may..'MAY' have my room key, she told me. It was a wild goose chase all the way after that! I managed to get hold of one of the staffs, who told me that the key was supposed to be at the counter. So I went back again..was shoved off. So my Dad who drove me there got pretty mad, yeah, and you could see how cranky he was when he complained to that lady at the counter about my key problem, and their haphazhard system. Immediately she took action, gave me a single room instead, and a key! Hurray, a key! Happily we rushed to the room, opened the door, and found--oh no, the room was occupied by someone else! Then it was another trip down to the counter again. And by that time, I was so drenched in sweat, and so tired that I nearly fell asleep. To cut the story short, I was given the whole bunch of keys to all 6 bedrooms in my apartment instead, and was asked to choose a bedroom I want! Hehe.. it was better than I had expected! So I found a single room I wanted, in fact the only unoccupied single room in that apartment (which incidentally had a faulty fan and lamp. So I went back to the counter again, and that lady gave me a "oh, not her again!' look, returned the bunch of keys, then told her about my faulty lamp and ceiling fan case, but was then told to report it to her tomorrow, which means today, though I hadn't done it yet. Will report it tonight. So guess where did I stay last night? Couldn't possibly sleep in that boiling hot, dark and eerie bedroom. So I hopped into a friend's room just next to my apartment(hers was a shared room with 2 beds), and 'borrowed' her roomate's bed for the night. Thankfully her roomate did not turn up last night. Hehe..

But today..sigh today. I'm in a pretty weird mood today..both very happy to see my pals, but at the same time extremely tired of the waiting and pushing to register business. Guess I got pretty spoiled after my 3-month holiday! And I'm getting a bit cranky now....just got out from one of the stuffiest room you can find in unimas, after attending this soft-skill module session for nearly 2 hours. Very sleepy now. But I have a choir audition or something to attend afterwards at 3pm. Which reminds me, I've got to go now! Bye readers! Cheerio!

Sunday, July 10, 2005

to unimas I will go!

Ah, the sweet beckoning of unimas...the tranquil ambience of the small, humble campus...it's going to be part of my world again. Can't wait to be back to that old place, the place I'd been studying and staying the past few months. And best of all, I'm going to be there tomorrow! Yeah, TOMORROW! Though I'll be in a totally different part of unimas...the new world of UNIMAS...the new campus, a brand new dorm, a totally brand new experience. Everything's going to be pretty BRAND NEW! Hopefully my pals wouldn't be totally brand new too! Nah, I'm not like that...old chums mean too much to me. Wouldn't ever trade them for new ones, though I'd most likely have some new ones coming into my life, and of course an old church pal, who's coming in as a brand new unimas freshie! Oh, y'know who you are, it's ******. A great gal, truly one of a kind *****, and i believe, a future great student of TESL, one that will bring sunshine plus enthusiasm towards knowledge (including literature), plus great joy to her class! Hopefully she'll be a future dean's list student too!

But I just can't help but be reminded of a terrible thing. You see, a close pal of mine, a truly amazing friend will not be coming back to join the gang in unimas again, due to unforeseeable circumstances. *SOB* *SOB* will truly miss her A LOT! Well, to that great friend, you know who you are. *sigh* Will truly cherish the times of joy and laughter, even the heated moments of boiling pressure and dark frustration; times we would always sit together in class, times we shared our deep thoughts and experiences....will really miss having you as part of the gang, especially with the four of us always together. This semester will definitely be different without you, and I'll definitely remember you as that cheerful, bright and cute gal who was always there to lend a listening ear; also as my counselor who would advise me, cheer me up in my frustration. I'm so glad to have met a wonderful, sweet, sunny and caring friend like you. You rock, girl! You truly rock, my dear friend, not only through your name--Rocky girl (Haha...I'm referring to a private joke, you know what I mean lah), but also through your thoughtfulness, cheerfulness, determination, and a whole host of other things.In fact, in truth, you're the most cheerful and the cutest among the four of us. Yeah, you truly rock! But I'm glad that things have been ironed out for you, the muddy paths and uncertainties, it's pretty much over for you, I'm glad. You've found your own place, your own area of joy, a new avenue much more suited for you. And all I can say is...you've made a wise decision to move on into that other world, that other area (one which is more relevant to your current interests), instead of being stuck in your present one. So don't ever worry about what the future may hold. But knowing you, I know you'll always trudge on with confidence and determination, like a rock, you'll stand firm, I bet. YOur presence will be greatly missed...and I'll definitely not forget that drama performance we did together, our little walk around the golden triangle of Kuching, our meal at Tun Jugah and the conversation during that last meal at Samarahan. Hopefully our paths will cross again next time! Don't forget to visit us when you happen to drop by humble ol' Kuching! All the best to you friend! Enjoy Penang to your heart's content! Will definitely keep in contact, once I get my new hp!

Well, but whatever the circumstances, nothing will stop me form savouring old and new Unimas, my new dorm, the new semester to my fullest! Oh, btw, just heard from a friend that my new dorm in the new campus is ready, fully brand new (of course), and best of all, it's no longer going to be that 4-in-a-small-cramped-room tiny abode...I'm going to have 7 other roomies, all housed within an apartment-like large room, containing 2 single bedrooms and 3 double bedrooms! Isn't that great? And I'll probably be staying with 3rd year or even 4th year or Master's Degree seniors. Probably, I guess, from what I read about the list of students accepted into the dorm. Well, can't wait to transfer my stuff into my new room, meet new roomies, get back with old pals...which means I'm currently also busy packing my things to be carted to that new place.And trust me, this time, I'm bringing nearly 60% of all my belongings there--majority of my clothes, books (Oh yeah, my books, definitely, and other nitty gritty personal items I may need... no harm bringing as many things as I can since I may need them, sometime in the future, and I don't want to trouble myself to jot down and bring from home the things I'd forgotten to bring in the first place during the subsequent weeks to come. Yeah, I can do that since I'm studying in hometown Unimas. Hehe..don't have to worry about exceeding luggage weight limit...so it's going to be a full car of stuff. My last record was a car bonnetful (to the brim) of stuff, plus my backpack and other bags on the car's backseat. oh yeah, that's amount of stuff I would bring to uni. Hate packing, but just love bringing lots of things along, which will turn out to be unused, dusty items anyway! Oh well, just can't help it! Better safe than sorry, right? Ooh, it's late now, gotta rush off to sleep, bye folks! Enjoying the new uni semester, for those of you going back or just entering uni! Cheerio! ^_^
Who Am I - Casting Crowns